The Emotional Weight of Private Practice | Lindsay Benson | TPOT 442
The Practice of Therapy Podcast with Gordon Brewer
Release Date: 07/27/2026
The Practice of Therapy Podcast with Gordon Brewer
Have you ever wondered how much easier private practice could feel if you stopped fighting the way your brain works? In this episode, I’m talking with Martin Altman, LPC, about his experience as a therapist with ADHD and how understanding his own neurodivergence helped him find a niche that genuinely fit. We get into the strengths and challenges that can come with ADHD, how Martin stays present with clients, and why building the right systems can make private practice feel a whole lot more sustainable. Martin also shares a really helpful perspective on emotional hijacking and why distraction...
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Therapists are great at taking care of everyone else, but we are not always so good at noticing what the work is doing to us. In this episode, I’m talking with Lindsay Benson about the hidden toll private practice can take on our nervous systems. We get into therapist burnout, the stress that builds up from sitting with difficult stories all day, and the small practices that can help us reset between sessions. Lindsay also shares her experience moving from insurance to private pay, offering therapy intensives, and building a practice that feels more sustainable. This is a great conversation...
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What if the biggest thing holding your private practice back isn't your marketing strategy but your mindset? In this episode, I'm joined by Tyana Tavakol to talk about the beliefs that shape the way we build our practices. We explore scarcity versus abundance, the value of finding your niche, and why trying to appeal to everyone often keeps you from connecting with the clients who need you most. We also dive into building an online practice, creating meaningful professional relationships, and learning to trust your own expertise instead of comparing yourself to everyone else. If you've ever...
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Are you burning out in private practice without realizing it? In this episode of The Practice of Therapy Podcast, Gordon talks with Kristin Oja, DNP, founder of STAT Wellness, about optimizing stress resilience and preventing burnout. Kristin shares a functional medicine perspective on why burnout is not always caused by work alone. Often, it is the buildup of stressors outside of work, including sleep, caffeine, exercise, relationships, technology, self-talk, and lack of recovery. Kristin explains the idea of the “stress bucket” and how even good things, like exercise, intermittent...
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Is SEO dead, or is it just changing? In this episode, I’m joined again by Natalie Moore, a licensed marriage and family therapist and SEO coach for therapists in private practice. Natalie breaks down the difference between SEO and AIO, or artificial intelligence optimization, and explains why therapists don’t need to panic about AI search replacing traditional SEO. We talk about how private practice owners can make their websites easier to find on Google, ChatGPT, Perplexity, and other AI search tools. Natalie shares why specialty pages, Google Business Profiles, clear niche messaging, and...
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What happens when the therapist is the one who needs support? In this episode, I’m talking about the very real challenges therapists face when life disrupts their ability to work. Private practice can offer freedom and flexibility, but it can also leave clinicians vulnerable when illness, grief, natural disasters, burnout, or unexpected emergencies come up. We’ll look at why therapists need a safety net, how financial stress impacts clinicians, and what it means to prepare your practice for the unexpected. From emergency grants and burnout prevention to referral networks and professional...
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Can you really build a successful private practice right out of grad school? In this episode of The Practice of Therapy Podcast, I talk with Jarrod Hoffman about building a private practice right out of grad school and the lessons he has learned in those early years of practice ownership. Jarrod shares his experience of stepping into private practice, navigating pricing, working through imposter syndrome, and learning how to communicate the value of the work he does. We also talk about why niching matters, how our own stories often shape the clients we feel called to serve, and why private...
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When I started my private practice nearly 20 years ago, there were not nearly as many resources available for therapists as there are today. I learned a lot by trial and error, and looking back, there are definitely some things I would do differently. In this episode, I’m sharing what I wish I had known when I first started private practice. One of the biggest lessons I learned is that I made things more complicated than they needed to be. From keeping paper records to waiting too long to outsource, I can see now how simpler systems would have made a big difference early on. I talk about the...
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Are you charging enough in private practice, or does guilt keep getting in the way? In this episode, Gordon is joined by Bianca Hughes, LPC, therapist, speaker, mentor, and founder of Authentically BU and the Soulful Clinician Collective. Bianca shares how she moved from hospital work into private practice and the mindset shifts that helped her build a career that feels aligned, sustainable, and authentic. Gordon and Bianca talk about money mindset, imposter syndrome, marketing, confidence, and why therapists need to see themselves as both clinicians and business owners. Bianca also shares why...
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In this episode, I’m joined by Dr. Phebe Brako for a really thoughtful conversation about what it means to make therapy more culturally responsive. So many of the clinical theories we learn were developed through a Western lens, and while those theories can be helpful, they don’t always fit every client, every family system, or every cultural background. Dr. Phebe talks about why therapists need to examine their own worldview, stay curious about their clients’ lived experiences, and be willing to adapt the models they use in the therapy room. We talk about culture, family systems, CBT,...
info_outlineTherapists are great at taking care of everyone else, but we are not always so good at noticing what the work is doing to us.
In this episode, I’m talking with Lindsay Benson about the hidden toll private practice can take on our nervous systems. We get into therapist burnout, the stress that builds up from sitting with difficult stories all day, and the small practices that can help us reset between sessions.
Lindsay also shares her experience moving from insurance to private pay, offering therapy intensives, and building a practice that feels more sustainable. This is a great conversation for anyone who loves the work but wants to have a little more energy left when the workday is over.
Resources Mentioned In This Episode
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Meet Lindsay Benson LPC-S
With 20 years of experience as a Licensed Professional Counselor, Lindsay Benson is passionate about helping people heal from the inside out. She earned both her bachelor's and master's degrees from Oklahoma State University, where her calling to work with trauma survivors began while volunteering with abused youth. That experience confirmed what she has known ever since, that helping others heal is more than a profession; it is her life's purpose.
For more than a decade in private practice, Lindsay has specialized in working with adults struggling with anxiety, trauma, shame, burnout, self-judgment, and a sense of disconnection from themselves and their lives. She is especially passionate about helping individuals reconnect with their authentic selves, cultivate self-compassion, and live with greater purpose, presence, and fulfillment.
Lindsay believes lasting healing happens when we address the whole person mind, body, and spirit. Her integrative approach combines evidence-based therapies with holistic practices, including EMDR, Internal Family Systems (IFS), Somatic Healing, Transpersonal Psychology, Energy Psychology, Mindfulness, Reiki, Emotion Code, Body Code, Healing Remembered, and meditation. Her work focuses on helping clients regulate their nervous systems, heal unresolved wounds, and reconnect with their innate capacity for healing.
Driven by a passion for supporting fellow clinicians, Lindsay co-founded Divine Legacy Collective, an organization dedicated to helping therapists thrive personally and professionally through immersive, embodied continuing education experiences. Rather than traditional lecture-based trainings, Divine Legacy Collective offers experiential CEU retreats and workshops that allow therapists to personally experience the very practices they can bring into their clinical work. Through trauma-informed yoga, somatic practices, meditation, parts work, nervous system regulation, time in nature, and opportunities for deep reflection, therapists leave not only with new clinical skills but also feeling renewed, grounded, and more connected to their Highest Self.
Lindsay's mission is simple: to help people and the professionals who care for them move beyond surviving and into a life of authenticity, connection, healing, and lasting well-being.